I don't see a compelling reason from the lyrics to equate it with oil in the Mid-East. That certainly may be the meaning, but I think it's reading into it a little bit.
Instead, I think it's just a general metaphor for sin and pride. Our fallen hearts want what they want and they are willing to sin to get it.
Instead of seeing all good things as a gift from God, we think we are owed a life of luxury or a life free of pain. When we pursue that life at all costs, we shouldn't be surprised when it actually comes with a cost. But our sinful hearts are so blind that we don't see why we're being stung.
In reference to "cutting the branch off the cherry tree" I think that just means in our pursuit of luxury we keep going bigger and bigger. Going for the honey hasn't satisfied, so we must not be going after it enough.
And of course when we live that type of lifestyle and have that mentality, the consequences are impossible to run away from "following me across the sea" and they affect even our loved ones "stinging my friends and family."
If this is the case, then the "black" doesn't refer to oil, but simply the darkness that comes with vainly pursuing idols. Such a person doesn't live in and for the light, but for darkness. They may get honey, but it's honey tainted by blackness.
I get really tired of the easy avenue that songs are always about 9/11, War on Terror, War on Drugs etc. So believe me when I say, I initially wanted to agree with you, especially because Thrice does tend to take a god-perspective on a lot of their music.
I get really tired of the easy avenue that songs are always about 9/11, War on Terror, War on Drugs etc. So believe me when I say, I initially wanted to agree with you, especially because Thrice does tend to take a god-perspective on a lot of their music.
However, I think in this instance there is quite a bit of tidbits that actually lean that way.
However, I think in this instance there is quite a bit of tidbits that actually lean that way.
The smashing through things while stinging back is the overarching idea, and while that isn't very strong on it's own (and can obviously apply in broad strokes to most struggles in life). There's...
The smashing through things while stinging back is the overarching idea, and while that isn't very strong on it's own (and can obviously apply in broad strokes to most struggles in life). There's two line's that seem to allude to the Middle East conflicts. First that you brought up, "So I'm cutting' that branch off the cherry tree. Singing this will be my victory" which I understood as what we originally came for wasn't going the way we wanted, so we ended up taking more than we needed (which again is vagueish). But the second example, "Then I See them coming after me And they're following me across the sea And now they're stinging my friends and my family And I Don't know why this is happening" would pretty closely illustrate that this conflict is taking place over seas, and that it's coming back and hurting us and our friends (whether thats allied countries, or specific people we know that are victims of attacks) and would be a pretty ideal example of what the song could be aiming for.
@onliberty Firstly, part of the beauty of art and Thrice's lyrics in particular is they can mean a lot of things to a lot of different things to different people, and that doesn't mean that anyone is wrong. I have a Thrice lyric tattoo and what it means to me is not what the song is about at all.
With that said though, I really don't think that it is reading too much into it at all to realize that he was talking about the Middle East and that "black honey" is clearly a metaphor for oil. The explanation you've provided...
@onliberty Firstly, part of the beauty of art and Thrice's lyrics in particular is they can mean a lot of things to a lot of different things to different people, and that doesn't mean that anyone is wrong. I have a Thrice lyric tattoo and what it means to me is not what the song is about at all.
With that said though, I really don't think that it is reading too much into it at all to realize that he was talking about the Middle East and that "black honey" is clearly a metaphor for oil. The explanation you've provided is a great way to look at it, and I'm sure Thrice would support that sentiment as well, but I do believe that this one of the less ambiguous songs in their catalog.
I don't see a compelling reason from the lyrics to equate it with oil in the Mid-East. That certainly may be the meaning, but I think it's reading into it a little bit.
Instead, I think it's just a general metaphor for sin and pride. Our fallen hearts want what they want and they are willing to sin to get it.
Instead of seeing all good things as a gift from God, we think we are owed a life of luxury or a life free of pain. When we pursue that life at all costs, we shouldn't be surprised when it actually comes with a cost. But our sinful hearts are so blind that we don't see why we're being stung.
In reference to "cutting the branch off the cherry tree" I think that just means in our pursuit of luxury we keep going bigger and bigger. Going for the honey hasn't satisfied, so we must not be going after it enough.
And of course when we live that type of lifestyle and have that mentality, the consequences are impossible to run away from "following me across the sea" and they affect even our loved ones "stinging my friends and family."
If this is the case, then the "black" doesn't refer to oil, but simply the darkness that comes with vainly pursuing idols. Such a person doesn't live in and for the light, but for darkness. They may get honey, but it's honey tainted by blackness.
@onliberty
@onliberty
I get really tired of the easy avenue that songs are always about 9/11, War on Terror, War on Drugs etc. So believe me when I say, I initially wanted to agree with you, especially because Thrice does tend to take a god-perspective on a lot of their music.
I get really tired of the easy avenue that songs are always about 9/11, War on Terror, War on Drugs etc. So believe me when I say, I initially wanted to agree with you, especially because Thrice does tend to take a god-perspective on a lot of their music.
However, I think in this instance there is quite a bit of tidbits that actually lean that way.
However, I think in this instance there is quite a bit of tidbits that actually lean that way.
The smashing through things while stinging back is the overarching idea, and while that isn't very strong on it's own (and can obviously apply in broad strokes to most struggles in life). There's...
The smashing through things while stinging back is the overarching idea, and while that isn't very strong on it's own (and can obviously apply in broad strokes to most struggles in life). There's two line's that seem to allude to the Middle East conflicts. First that you brought up, "So I'm cutting' that branch off the cherry tree. Singing this will be my victory" which I understood as what we originally came for wasn't going the way we wanted, so we ended up taking more than we needed (which again is vagueish). But the second example, "Then I See them coming after me And they're following me across the sea And now they're stinging my friends and my family And I Don't know why this is happening" would pretty closely illustrate that this conflict is taking place over seas, and that it's coming back and hurting us and our friends (whether thats allied countries, or specific people we know that are victims of attacks) and would be a pretty ideal example of what the song could be aiming for.
@onliberty Firstly, part of the beauty of art and Thrice's lyrics in particular is they can mean a lot of things to a lot of different things to different people, and that doesn't mean that anyone is wrong. I have a Thrice lyric tattoo and what it means to me is not what the song is about at all. With that said though, I really don't think that it is reading too much into it at all to realize that he was talking about the Middle East and that "black honey" is clearly a metaphor for oil. The explanation you've provided...
@onliberty Firstly, part of the beauty of art and Thrice's lyrics in particular is they can mean a lot of things to a lot of different things to different people, and that doesn't mean that anyone is wrong. I have a Thrice lyric tattoo and what it means to me is not what the song is about at all. With that said though, I really don't think that it is reading too much into it at all to realize that he was talking about the Middle East and that "black honey" is clearly a metaphor for oil. The explanation you've provided is a great way to look at it, and I'm sure Thrice would support that sentiment as well, but I do believe that this one of the less ambiguous songs in their catalog.
@tyler10153 For what it's worth, I couldn't agree more.
@tyler10153 For what it's worth, I couldn't agree more.